ce

IPA/ˌsiː ˈiː/
KK[sˌiˈi]IPA/ˌsiː ˈiː/

ce — abbreviation

1. a short written label for Common Era, placed after a year number to show the dat

1.abbreviationB1
Definition

a short written label for Common Era, placed after a year number to show the date comes after the year traditionally linked to Jesus Christ's birth; it works just like AD in dates

Example

The Roman Empire reached its greatest size around 117 CE.

used with approximate date: around [year] CE

Many scholars now prefer CE over AD when writing about historical dates.

contrast with AD: prefer CE over AD

Common collocations
  • first century CE
  • around [year] CE
  • in [year] CE
  • written as CE
Synonyms
  • AD

    same time period but tied to Christian terminology (Anno Domini); CE is the religiously neutral alternative

Antonyms
  • BCE

    Before Common Era — marks dates before year 1 in the same neutral system

Grammar Patterns

[year] CE

[century] CE

around [year] CE

Usage Note

CE always follows the year number (e.g. 2024 CE), never comes before it. BCE is the matching term for dates before year 1. CE and BCE together form the Common Era dating system, used as a religiously neutral alternative to AD and BC.

Common Mistakes

in CE 500
in 500 CE
CE is always placed after the year number, never before it.
500 CE BC
500 BCE
CE and BC belong to different systems; use BCE for dates before year 1, not a mix of both labels.

Word family

  • BCE
    abbreviationB1
  • AD
    abbreviationB1
  • BC
    abbreviationB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: abbreviation/1

CE (Common Era) and AD (Anno Domini, Latin for 'in the year of the Lord') mark the same stretch of time — years after the traditional birth of Christ — but CE was created as a religiously neutral label. AD is older and remains common in Christian-majority countries and some formal writing. BCE (Before Common Era) and BC (Before Christ) are the parallel pair for dates before year 1. In practice, the choice depends on audience and setting: CE and BCE are now standard in most university textbooks, museums, and academic journals, while AD and BC still appear widely in newspapers, everyday writing, and religious contexts across the English-speaking world.

AD ↗BCE ↗BC ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • century CE
  • year CE

Phrases

  • the [ordinal] century CE
  • [year] to [year] CE
  • dated to [year] CE

Prepositions

  • in [year] CE
  • by [century] CE
  • around [year] CE
  • from [year] CE

Etymology

English

CE stands for Common Era. The term first appeared in English in the early 1700s as an alternative to AD. It gained wider use in the late 20th century, when scholars and educators sought a calendar label that did not centre Christian belief. The matching term BCE (Before Common Era) followed the same pattern.